BUSINESS UPDATE
CORPORATE
NISSAN ANNOUNCES SENIOR MANAGEMENT CHANGES
On March 20th, Nissan announced senior global management changes effective April 1, 2007. Hidetoshi Imazu, senior vice president, vehicle production engineering division, is appointed executive vice president, manufacturing and supply chain management of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and chairman of the management committee for Europe.
Trevor Mann is appointed as senior vice president, manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain management for Europe.
Alfonso E. Albaisa is appointed vice president of Nissan Design Europe (NDE) located in Paddington, London.
PRODUCT
NISSAN TO INTRODUCE TIIDA IN EUROPE
On March 26th, Nissan Europe announced that it will introduce the Tiida model to Europe from June 2007. Tiida will be distributed in the markets where there is strong demand for such models. These markets include: Baltics, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. As part of the launch strategy, Nissan may, at a later stage, study the possibility of introducing the model to further markets in Europe.
NISSAN ANNOUNCES ALL NEW X‑TRAIL
On March 6th, at the 2007 international Geneva Motor Show Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., unveiled its all-new, next generation X‑TRAIL. Building on the huge success enjoyed by the first generation X‑TRAIL, the new model boasts improved performance, convenience, comfort, quality, and lower consumption and emissions and sales begin in the summer.
NISSAN ANNOUNCES QASHQAI URBAN CHALLENGE - SERIES 1
On March 20th, Nissan announced, as part of its European launch of the new ‘urbanproof’ crossover QASHQAI, the QASHQAI Urban Challenge - the first ever pan-European free-riding competition of its kind.
QASHQAI Urban Challenge is an urban free-riding competition where the world's best mountain bikers will compete in an urban environment to win 200,000 euros - the largest prize fund in this sport to date. Throughout May and June, five European cities will host each leg of the first series bringing together the best of the free-riding world as well as the uninitiated in each city where spectators can see the sport pushed to its limits.
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
NISSAN - DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE FACILITY IN GERMANY
On March 5th, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced it has established a dynamic performance facility in the town of Troisdorf near Bonn, its first such dedicated facility in the world.
The 1,260-square-meter facility is responsible for the dynamic performance target setting of Nissan vehicles in Europe, including the Infiniti luxury brand which will be launched across Europe in 2008. The facility will also contribute to the target setting of both Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles globally.
NEW NISSAN SKYLINE HITS 1,000KM ON ONE TANK OF FUEL
- Skyline's V6 engine combines fuel efficiency with high-performance driving -
On March 23rd, Nissan engineers set out to prove a point - that the new Skyline sedan could go 1,000 kilometers on one tank of fuel. The challenge was achieved with a 2.5-liter Skyline model powered by the VQ25HR V6 engine, capable of generating 225 horsepower and 26.8kgm of torque. The team succeeded in covering a impressive distance of 1,024.4 kilometers with an average fuel consumption rate of 16.3km-per-liter and was a great example of Nissan's advanced fuel-economy technology, demonstrating the efficiency of the new VQ engine under real-world driving conditions.
NISSAN ADVANCES TESTING OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
- Innovative vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system to help reduce traffic accidents and improve pedestrian safety -
On March 13th, Nissan Motors Co., Ltd. announced that it will begin the next test-phase of its intelligent transportation system (ITS) project, employing vehicle-to-infrastructure communication that allows synchronized communication between vehicles and traffic light signals. Nissan will invest in the installation of an advanced traffic signal infrastructure within the site of the Nissan Technical Center, located in the Kanagawa Prefecture*1, to collect real-world vehicle data from several hundred employee cars participating in the project.
NISSAN INTRODUCES INNOVATIVE ENGINE VALVE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
- Variable Valve Event & Lift (VVEL) delivers significant improvements in
dynamic and environmental performance -
On March 29th, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. introduced a new engine technology that delivers a balance of responsiveness and power, fuel efficiency and low emissions. The new system combines the technologies behind Nissan's newly developed Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL)*1 and continuous valve timing control (C-VTC) to deliver significantly enhanced performance. This advanced technology will be available to customers worldwide through the Nissan and Infiniti product lines.
Nissan announced plans to install the VVEL system, which contributes up to a 10%*2 reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions, on its products worldwide starting from FY07 under the Nissan Green Program 2010.
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP ACTIVITIES
NISSAN CHILDREN’S STORYBOOK
On March 9th, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced the winners of 23rd Nissan Children’s Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix. Nissan announced prizes for 38 categories in the 23rd Nissan Children’s Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix, including the Grand Prizes for storybooks and picture books. The 23rd Grand Prix was sponsored by Nissan and organized by the International Institute for Children’s Literature, Osaka.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Penny Szczepaniak, Corporate Communications +33 1 30 13 57 87
pszczepaniak@nissan-europe.com
Stéphanie Boerhof, Corporate Communications +33 1 30 13 67 65
sboerhof-largerie@nissan-europe.com
Neil Reeve, Product Communications +33 1 30 13 67 57
nreeve@nissan-europe.com
Mia Nielsen, Technology & Design Communications +33 1 30 13 66 44
All the information mentioned above can be found in more detail on
www.nissaneurope-newsbureau.com and http://press.nissan-global.com